Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan Sign Security Cooperation Protocol
Security Councils of the two countries held their eighth round of consultations in Shymkent and agreed to a joint expert working group.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Terrorism
The Security Councils of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan held their eighth round of consultations in Shymkent, co-chaired by Aida Balayeva and Viktor Makhmudov. The talks ended with a signed cooperation protocol and the creation of a joint expert working group.
Why it matters
The consultations cover a broad range of threats, from counter-terrorism and organized crime to water and environmental security, signaling coordinated regional security planning. Kazakhstan's proposals for an International Water Organization and a climate forecasting center point to longer-term cooperation beyond immediate law enforcement concerns.
The talks marked the eighth round of consultations between the two Security Councils under an agreed cooperation plan. The extraction provides no casualty, incident, or threat-level figures, and the specific outcomes of the protocol remain undisclosed.
The players
Aida Balayeva
Balayeva serves as Deputy Chair of the Security Council of Kazakhstan and co-chaired the consultations.
Viktor Makhmudov
Makhmudov is Secretary of the Security Council under the President of Uzbekistan and co-chaired the consultations.
The details
Delegations covered counter-terrorism, religious extremism, youth radicalization, organized crime, drug trafficking, illegal migration, cybercrime, and regional water and environmental security, including transboundary water resources. Kazakhstan proposed an International Water Organization within the United Nations system and a Regional Center for Forecasting Climate and Man-Made Emergencies. Delegation leaders concluded the visit by planting trees at Shymkent's Askarov Dendrological Park.
Timeline
Consultations held in Shymkent, with the article published on November 3, 2026.
Category Big Picture
Kazakhstan's proposal to house an International Water Organization within the United Nations system extends its existing push to frame transboundary water management as a multilateral security issue. The bilateral talks thus connect regional counter-terrorism coordination with a broader international water-governance agenda.
Residents across the region may see the protocol's joint expert working group shape cross-border coordination on organized crime, migration, and cybercrime. Water and emergency-forecasting proposals could affect how transboundary resources and climate-related disasters are managed in the years ahead.
The takeaway
Bilateral security cooperation in Central Asia increasingly combines traditional counter-terrorism work with environmental and water-resource planning. Readers following regional security should watch whether the joint expert working group produces concrete, published deliverables.
Further reading
For broader background on how regional governments respond to militant threats, see Terrorism.
